Akira Hiramoto
アキラ |Romaji = Hiramoto Akira |English = Akira Hiramoto |Born = 1976 (aged about 40) Okinawa, Japan |Ethnicity = Japanese |Gender = Male |Occupation = Manga artist |Employment = Kodansha (1995-present) |Debut = 1995 (Sono Tomodachi ni Gimon Ari) |Notable Manga = |Notable Collaborations = |Awards = |Equipment = Digital manga suite |Genres = |Area of Residence = Nerima, Tokyo |Status = Alive |Signature = }} アキラ|Hiramoto Akira}} is a Japanese professional mangaka serialised in seinen publication [[w:c:animanga:Weekly Young Magazine|''Weekly Young Magazine]], owned by Kodansha. He was born in Okinawa in Japan in 1976, and is currently aged around 40.Harem×Prison. Hiramoto Tearing Down Walls with A "Woman of Strength" | Da Vinci News. (Japanese) Retrieved 08-08-2015. The mangaka currently resides in the downtown area of Nerima, Tokyo."Akira Hiramoto assistant recruitment request" | Weekly Young Magazine via Wayback Machine. Retreived 10-04-2016. Akira Hiramoto has produced multiple works while signed to Kodansha, of which the magnum opus was the long-running gag manga "Agonashi Gen to Ore Monogatari". The mangaka is currently working on two manga series as the author & artist of Me and the Devil Blues and ''Prison School'', the latter winning the General Manga Category award at the 37th Kodansha Awards Ceremony in 2013.Winners at 37th Kodansha Manga Awards" | Anime News Network. Retrieved 06-08-2015. Biography Early life In 1976, Akira Hiramoto was born in Okinawa prefecture of Japan. In Hiramoto's junior high school years, the prospect of graduation into high school and part-time employment was only bearable when he drew manga as a hobby at manga cafes. The high school experience of male-female division proved to become an inspiration for his future manga series. In 1995, Akira Hiramoto was signed to Kodansha as a manga artist when he made his debut with the oneshot "Sono Tomodachi no Gimon Ari" in Weekly Young Magazine.Author Biography - Akira Hiramoto | Weekly Young Magazine. (Japanese) Retrieved 08-08-2015. The freedom of his high school graduation allowed Hiramoto to forgo higher education in the pursuit of a manga career, after winning a manga contest prize for his oneshot despite a lack of confidence in his artistic skill. Manga career Gag comedy debut In 1998, Akira Hiramoto's first gag comedy manga and series "Agonashi Gen to Ore Monogatari" began serialisation in Weekly Young Magazine. It was published in the magazine for eleven years as his most famous and long-running work. In 2003, Hiramoto's second series "Me and The Devil Blues" was serialised in Issue No. 11 of Monthly Afternoon Magazine during the original chapter run of Agonashi Gen - until the latter's completion in 2009 and its hiatus in 2008. During 2007, Hiramoto had a oneshot "Yarisugi Companion to Atashi Monogatari" serialised in Weekly Young Magazine which became a short series running for ten issues of Weekly Young Magazine with the two other series in continuation and published in one volume by Kodansha. The completion of this series preceded a three-year hiatus in which Hiramoto's manga received no serialisation. Post-hiatus In 2011 following a three-year hiatus, Akira Hiramoto's fourth series "Prison School" was published in Issue No. 10 of Weekly Young Magazine as his then-singular manga series. The comedy manga won a Kodansha publisher award in their "General" category in 2013. In an interview with journalist Okita Akira, Akira Hiramoto identified American crime thriller Cool Hand Luke as an inspiration for Prison School and the use of American filmography as reference work. In the interview, he cited depicting humanity, violence, desire and a woman of strength as his primary motivation to draw manga. In 2015, Akira Hiramoto's manga Prison School recieved a television anime adaptation which he provided creative input for to its production committee alongside his magazine editor Toshihiro Miura and promoted.The Men Who Created The Prison School Anime Chapter 2 Page 10 In 2014, "Me and the Devil Blues" resumed serialisation from a six-year hiatus in Young Magazine the 3rd. In December 2015, the Oricon Manga Chart designated Prison School as the 9th-top bestselling manga by volume count in Japan and the 2nd-top Kodansha bestseller."Top 10 Oricon Manga Volume Chart 2015" | Oricon Charts. (Japanese) Retrieved 26-08-2015. Serialised works Manga series * - a completed long-running gag manga about low-earning middle-aged shipping company manager Gen and his employees, that ran from Merger Issue No. 5-6 of 1998 to Issue No. 27 in 2009."The Jawless Gen' Story and Mine" Hiramoto Akira: The Published List | Kodansha Comics. (Japanese) Retrieved 08-08-2015. * - a popular manga about the black blues legend selling his soul to the devil and losing his family in order to become a musical legend and roam America, titled after the musician's most famous song."Me and the Devil Blues" | Weekly Young Magazine. (Japanese) Retrieved 08-08-2015. It ran in Kodansha's Monthly Afternoon Magazine from November 25, 2003 to February 25, 2008 before an indefinite hiatus."Me and the Devil Blues" Hiramoto Akira: The Published List | Kodansha Comics. (Japanese) Retrieved 08-08-2015. This was the first manga of Hiramoto's to be published in the Northern American market, by Del Rey Manga,"Media Blasters, Del Rey Announce New Manga Licenses" | Anime News Network. Retrieved 09-08-2015. and has begun monthly releases after hiatus in Young Magazine the Third starting in February 6, 2015."Young Magazine the 3rd Magazine's Line-Up Detailed" | Anime News Network. Retrieved 11-09-2015. * - a mature fanservice manga about an assistant at a Japanese hot spring in Tokyo. Having begun as a oneshot, it ran from Issue No. 46 in 2007 to Issue No. 8 in 2008 and was published in one volume by Kodansha."The Overboard Companion's Story and Mine" Hiramoto Akira: Yanmaga KC | Kodansha Comics. (Japanese) Retrieved 08-08-2015. * - a mature comedy manga about the enrollment and internal imprisonment of five boys at a girls school recently turned co-ed, and their struggle to stay enrolled despite resistance from its schoolgirls.Young Magazine "Prison School". (Japanese) Retrieved 08-08-2015. The manga is currently serialised starting from Issue No. 10 in 2011, having been awarded a publisher award from Kodansha and received an anime adaptation by JC Staff."Prison School" Hiramoto Akira: The Published List | Kodansha Comics. (Japanese) Retrieved 08-08-2015. * - a special series in collaboration with Hanamura, promoting the anime adaptation of [[Prison School (manga)|''Prison School]]. Oneshots and crossovers * - his debut oneshot serialised in Weekly Young Magazine in 1995. * - an illustration published in Issue No. 2 2010 in the Kodansha bimonthly magazine Nemesis.NEMESIS Monthly Shonen Sirius | Kodansha Comics. (Japanese) Retrieved 09-08-2015.NEMESIS Issue No.2 2010: KC Deluxe | Kodansha Comics. (Japanese) Retrieved 09-08-2015. * - a oneshot published in 2011 Issue No. 6 of Nemesis.NEMESIS Issue No.6 2011: KC Deluxe | Kodansha Comics. (Japanese) Retrieved 08-08-2015. * - a manga chapter special from the interview anthology by Shunsuke Kimura on the editorial aspects of the Japanese manga industry."Manga Editors" | Film Art. (Japanese) Retrieved 30-11-2015. * - the first short-story single chapter oneshot based on manga series Kiseijuu. The series is a collaboration with other mangaka to promote the upcoming Parasyte: A Maxim anime."Me and the Devil Blues' Hiramoto to Draw Parasyte Oneshot" | Anime News Network. Retrieved 08-08-2015. It ran in 2014 Issue No. 9 of Monthly Afternoon Magazine, with other authors such as Fairy Tail's Hiro Mashima and Peacemaker's Ryoji Minagawa producing other chapters."Fairy Tail's Mashima to Draw Parasyte One-Shot Manga" | Anime News Network. Retrieved 08-08-2015. * - a single-chapter crossover oneshot between Akira Hiramoto and Katsuhito Nagasawa featuring characters from both universes.Young Magazine 3rd Issue No.4 | Weekly Young Magazine. '(Japanese)' Retrieved 08-08-2015. Artbooks * - the first artbook by Hiramoto, illustrating his twenty-year artistic evolution with author commentary. Trivia *The characterised form of Akira Hiramoto makes a guest appearance in the chapter special series promoting the anime adaptation of the [[Prison School (manga)|''Prison School manga]]. *The characterisation is used as a signature on panel notes by the mangaka and is visually similar to Kenji from Agonashi Gen. *The titular cultural references in his manga series make homage to his interest in American media. *The manga artist uses the digital manga suite Comic Studio EX to produce his manga artwork.[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ODT7L2zxHIU "Prison School''s Akira Hiramoto drawing manga" | Young Magazine channel on Youtube]. Retreived 08-10-2015. *The Young Magazine editor of Prison School has confirmed that there are spoof Twitter accounts associated with the author.『監獄学園』担当: "kangoku_tantou" Tweet | Twitter. '(Japanese)' Retrieved 08-08-2015. *However, the official author account is not for contact according to its biography.平 本 ア キ ラ (akira_hiramoto) | Twitter Bio *Akira Hiramoto has never appeared in photos or public events and is somewhat more reclusive than other mangaka. Gallery File:AkiraHiramotoAvatar.png|Twitter picture. Videos External links *Official magazine author page '(Japanese)' *Official publisher volume page - '(Japanese)' *Official Twitter account (@akira_hiramoto) '(Japanese)' *Mangaka interview article '(Japanese)' *Hiramoto drawing Mari - YouTube '(Japanese)''' References Category:Manga